Judge shoots down lawsuit over ‘racist pig’ ethics board

Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter during a February meeting. CURTIS COMPTON/CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter during a February meeting. CURTIS COMPTON/CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

A Gwinnett County judge has shot down the ethics board-challenging lawsuit filed by embattled Commissioner Tommy Hunter.

Judge Melodie Snell Conner ruled against the lawsuit, which argued that Gwinnett’s ethics board was unconstitutional because of its use of appointments from private organizations, in an order filed Wednesday. Her brief, 1.5-page order said Gwinnett’s ethics board is “not constitutionally infirm” because it is merely a recommending body.

The final decision in Hunter's ethics case, which was based in part on a Jan. 14 Facebook post in which he called U.S. Rep. John Lewis a "racist pig,"' rested in the hands of his colleagues on the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners.

The board voted last week to publicly reprimand Hunter.

Conner’s ruling deemed the other arguments in Hunter’s lawsuit — including one asking for that reprimand to be vacated — moot.

Read the full story — including what folks on both side of the Tommy Hunter issue had to say — at myAJC.com